UWE student feels unsupported by uni after loss of dad

Lauren said she felt unsupported after her father died

A law student who lost her father said her university did not offer enough support.

Lauren Bennett, a student at the University of the West of England (UWE), felt unsupported after the loss of her father.

She said there was a lot of miscommunication, which led to her not getting an extension for an essay.

UWE said they were reviewing how to best communicate their policy over bereavement to the university.

Ms Bennett has now started a petition asking the university to make their support more accessible.

Ms Bennett said life for her was a "daily struggle" after the death of her father in January.

She said she could not go to her classes and asked for support from the university.

'Dad was proud'

"I did not want to drop out of university, I knew I would not come back if I did," Ms Bennett said.

"My dad was very proud of me going to uni and I wanted to do right by him."

Ms Bennett asked academics at the College of Business and Law for help so she could catch up with the work she had missed while planning her father's funeral.

"It was embarrassing to ask for help and for that to be denied," Ms Bennett said.

She said she did not get an extension for an essay that was due the day after her father's funeral, so she had to hand it in.

She said she got the marks for it back, but was too scared to look at them.

According to UWE, they do offer support for students suffering a bereavement, but Ms Bennett was given the wrong advice.

'Help someone'

After a three-week wait, Ms Bennett attended a counselling session, where she said she was encouraged by the counsellor to start a petition asking the university for bereavement support.

So far, her petition has gotten 13,618 signatures.

"I just hope it helps someone else not go through what I had to go through," Ms Bennett said.

In a statement, the University of the West of England told the BBC: "Our current assessment support covers bereavement, and our Student Support Advisors ensure students are provided with all the advice they need to continue their studies, including options for late submissions, agreed 'time out' of study, resits and marking reviews.

"The 14-day reasonable adjustment policy for those with disabilities, maternity or carers responsibility is not normally used for a bereavement as it doesn't always help the student, because it is still time-limited at a point where they are still grieving and experiencing disruption, and we understand that is likely to go on for a longer period than 14 days.

"We are currently reviewing how best to communicate this as part of our existing policy."